Chiefs' club-level ticket holders face huge ticket increase

Chiefs' club-level ticket holders face huge ticket increase
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Jim DeMoss’ ticket ordeal began innocently last month when he received a phone call from the Chiefs.

Beginning in 2009, he was informed, the price would rise dramatically on the six club-level season tickets he said he’s held since 1994.

DeMoss soon received a contract that not only outlined the steep increases — by 2013, he would pay more than double for those six seats what he will in 2008 — but also contained other terms he considered onerous.

The Chiefs were demanding a five-year commitment and gave him 10 days from receipt of the contract to decide. They also have the right to move the location of his seats, which are near midfield.

DeMoss considered the offer and the Chiefs’ nine-game losing streak ending last season, and threw up his hands in surrender.

“As far as these seats are concerned, I’m not going to do it,” he said. “Enough is enough. Prices have gradually crept up over the years on those tickets, but this is more than a creep.

“It’s hard to believe they just threw this out in front of people and told them they had 10 days to make up their minds. That’s not the way I would handle it.”

All club-level ticket holders will eventually have to decide that for themselves. The Chiefs began contacting that fan base in January, though senior vice president for administration Bill Newman said they won’t get to the last of them until the fall.

Like DeMoss, they were told of the changes coming to the club level, including upgraded amenities that will be in place in time for the 2010 season. And they will be asked to pay for those amenities, despite $375 million in renovations that are largely taxpayer-financed.

The price changes have been startling to many of the ticket holders, including some who have been buying from the Chiefs for many years. Kent Baker, who said he first bought Chiefs season tickets in the early ’80s, had a case of sticker shock when he received his contract Friday.

By 2013, he would be paying $11,040 for his four club-level tickets, also near midfield. Those same four season tickets will cost him $4,400 this year.

Newman said the three- and five-year commitments and the pricing structure are similar to what’s being done in other NFL stadiums with comparable club-level amenities.

“The club level beginning in 2009 will have an enclosed, air-conditioned space,” Newman said. “It’s going to have a high-end, hotel-lobby type of finish. It’s going to have huge glass windows to the outside. It’s going to have an upscale, festive atmosphere. It will have fireplaces. There will be flat-screen TVs throughout. The food will range from gourmet to standard fare. Fans can stay after the game. It’s a club.”

Newman said the Chiefs have contacted about 15 percent of their club-level ticket holders. The club level has about 10,200 seats.

He said about 95 percent have agreed to sign a long-term contract.

“We researched the pricing in the marketplace carefully,” Newman said. “This was not done without extensive research.

“The response has been what we thought it would be based on our research. Obviously, there are some people that this is more than their budgets would allow. But there are a lot of people who desire these kinds of amenities.

“We understand that the pricing may be such that not everybody will be able to deal with it. But maybe they still want to go to the games. We’ve been able to secure enough seating available in other levels of the stadium, and we’re giving them those options. If this pricing doesn’t work for some of our club-level ticket holders, there are a variety of options all throughout the stadium for them to select from that may be less than they are currently paying or comparable.”